


natural selection

by hydroxy



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Aliens, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Blood, Cannibalism, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Dismemberment, In a sick and twisted way, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Minor Character Death, Murder, Violence, Vore, author had too little sleep and decided to write THIS, it's not really cannibalism because tenhyuck aren't human but you know, ten just really loves his partner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:16:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28789338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hydroxy/pseuds/hydroxy
Summary: Perhaps to a young, naive neomorph who just migrated to Earth, the best meals were stolen from the many nearby meat processing plants that, surprisingly, didn’t have the highest security measures.To Ten, however, who’d spent his entire sentient existence studying the function of the human body and was no longer innocent, simpleminded, the mostdelicious, satisfyingfeasts came in the form of what humans termed the “gym rat.”
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten
Comments: 15
Kudos: 52
Collections: Challenge #4 — Awaken The World





	natural selection

**Author's Note:**

> ok look. initially i planned on writing something super cute about an intergalactic pizza delivery but obviously, this is where we've ended up. **please heed the tags, they are there for a reason.** there are minor character deaths, descriptions of blood and graphic dismemberment, and mild sexual content. if you do not feel comfortable reading this kind of content, _**please feel free to click away.**_ otherwise, i hope you enjoy!

The great thing about being an expert in human physiology—give or take a few questionable “discoveries” that he didn’t completely agree with—was exactly that: being an expert in human physiology. Sure, he _did_ have a few centuries’ worth of a head start (shoutout to Claude Bernard for the personal lessons _du milieu interieur),_ and yes, much of his knowledge stemmed from dissections of unwilling subjects (it’s not _his_ fault human death happened to be so painful), but Ten was dedicated to his craft and, moreso, to his lover. And since his lover happened to have a particular fondness for human flesh, it was only natural for Ten to use his expertise to his advantage.

Donghyuck’s been especially homesick for the past few months, often coming home after a long day of dealing with geriatric patients who _absolutely refuse to take their metformin_ to cling onto Ten’s arm and look up at him with puppydog eyes, complaining about how much he craved the taste of a beating heart that wasn’t already half-rotted. 

“At least over in Thyria all the animals die once they hit _thirty,”_ Donghyuck would whine, his head shoved against Ten’s chest with his arms wrapped around his waist. “Why do humans get so _old?_ They _reek._ I'm constantly surrounded by rotting meat."

“All food is good food,” Ten would chuckle, a gentle kiss onto Donghyuck’s forehead before they’d heat up a few T-bone steaks and slip into bed well before midnight, tired yawns and gentle kisses to prepare for the next long day of lectures and office hours (in Ten’s case) and dealing with stubborn old humans (endearingly termed by Donghyuck).

They’d chosen to stay on Earth specifically for its abundance in prey, a thriving population of over nine billion humans that seemed to know no end to their spawning. It was a perfect home for them, save for Donghyuck’s annoying (but very lucrative) job.

So, tonight, Ten was going to treat him to his favorite meal, a rewatch of the third Twilight movie (Donghyuck was an avid #TeamJacob supporter and, naturally, hated the rest of the films in which Edward got way too much undeserved screentime), and a visit to the nearby park after everyone else had gone to sleep so that Donghyuck could stretch out all of his (twenty or so) limbs without feeling cramped in the tiny space of their apartment.

Perhaps to a young, naive neomorph who’d just migrated to Earth, the best meals came in the form of a fatty pig, stolen and slaughtered at the site of the many nearby meat processing plants that surprisingly didn’t have the highest security measures. 

To Ten, however, who’d spent his entire sentient existence studying the function of the human body (and reporting back to Kun every few years with about 300 hours’ worth of audio that he would later call him back to complain about) and was no longer an innocent, simpleminded neomorph, the most _delicious,_ _satisfying_ feasts came in the form of what humans termed the “gym rat.”

The thing about _gym rats_ (quite a rude name, in Ten’s opinion) was that most, if not all, were _exceptionally_ healthy, with state-of-the art cardiovascular and muscular systems that were marbled to perfection, thanks to the low-calorie diets and vigorous exercise that resulted in the exquisite distribution of lipid sheets between each skeletal motor unit. Gym rats were a delicacy, an indulgent treat. 

In his free time, Ten would camp out on the upper floors of the large recreation center at the heart of their city, his legs robotically working away on the stairmaster while his eyes scoured the building for the perfect cut of meat—not too thin, not too thick. 

Ten’s long, dark tendrils span three times his height in his birth form, tapered into sharp points at each end, his eyes on either side of his head jet black, his outer coating marred by expulsions of his skeleton, as if he was a rotting human corpse come back to life. In his human form, the obvious default for trips to Safeway and when he’s lecturing in front of thousands of eager pre-medical students, Ten is a modest height of 172 centimetres, his cat-like eyes tinted a dark grey, and his toned, lean body camouflaged with white, flawless skin. 

And as it turns out, after centuries of perfecting his human appearance, vocal tone, and his bright, luminous smile, Ten’s ability to cast a spell on any gym rat and lure them back into his home was second to none. Even without the use of his hypnotic talents, Ten had been able to snag a few decadent meals with his looks alone (after cornering them, usually, by the gym shower stalls), and he was proud of the fact.

Their last victim (Ten preferred _prey item_ over victim— _victim_ sounded like he murdered them in cold blood and left them to rot in a dark alleyway, whereas _prey item_ stressed the fact that he was only fulfilling his biological role as the starving apex predator at the top of the food chain) was an adult named Mark. Donghyuck couldn’t stop talking about how _sweet_ his blood tasted for a whole week—likely because Mark had just finished a workout and Ten couldn’t help but immediately knock him out after smelling the saccharine, cloying scent that had permeated throughout the space of the cramped gym locker room.

Today’s mission was to lure in not one, but _two_ gym rats, a feat he’d never previously attempted but was excited to accomplish. He’d been staking out the bottom floor, where all the squat racks and dumbbells were, for weeks, and he had his eye on a newlywed couple that he’d learned just moved to their area (by snooping through membership files after closing, thanks to a very willing—hypnotized—general manager), seemingly oblivious to the city’s decently high murder rate (most of which were thanks to him). 

Their names were Jaemin and Jeno. Same height, lean builds, deliciously pale skin that exuded the sweetest scents after a hard leg day, candy-like and colored pink. Jaemin had the brightest, toothy smile, and Jeno had the most endearing eyes that formed half-moons with every laugh that rumbled through his chest. A cute pairing, in Ten’s opinion. Perhaps, in another vessel, he would’ve spared the two from their dark fates.

Alas, Donghyuck deserved the best, and Ten would do anything to keep his partner happy (and well-sated).

Ten corners the two in the locker room showers, pulling the plastic curtain aside with a flourish. A smirk pulls at his lips as he cocks a brow, taking in their naked bodies pressed flush against one another, hard lines of abs and corded muscles flexed, wet hair plastered against their foreheads as they stood frozen, too shocked to move. 

Jeno breaks first, eyes and hands darting around the stall as if to find some way to cover his bare skin, which only further amuses Ten, who then takes interest in the way that Jaemin’s body was so _flushed,_ from the tip of his nose down to his leaking, hardened length. 

“What the fuck are you—”

“Hello,” Ten purrs, taking a step forward, uncaring of the water raining over him. His eyes flash for a moment, jade green overtaking the color of his grey eyes, and he _feels_ Jaemin break under his gaze, eyes locked on his not out of human interest, but out of force. 

“Would you like to come over to my place tonight?” Ten asks, voice low. He knows Jaemin’s answer, but he just can’t help but toy with his prey.

“I’d love to—” _“Jaemin, what are you doing—”_

Jeno’s immediately cut off when a gasp is lodged inside his throat, eyes rendered immotile as Ten cocks a brow, forcing him into submission.

“Jeno, sweetie,” Ten murmurs, sharklike smile growing wide when he feels Jeno crumble, “you don’t have to be so jealous, dear. You’re invited too.”

“We’ll be there,” Jeno replies, robot-like, Ten mouthing along as the words are pulled from his throat. _Oh, how fun._

“See you,” Ten then giggles, a quick peck on both of their cheeks before he slips out of the stall, breaking their trance as he pulls the shower curtain behind him. 

_Donghyuck’s going to love them._

  
  
  
  


“Baby,” Ten coos, adoring gaze on the mop of hair pressed into his chest, “I have a surprise for you.”

“You do?” Donghyuck immediately pops his head up, sparkling eyes widened with a luminous smile painting his face. “Where is it?”

“It’ll be here in a few minutes,” Ten replies, brushing his fingers through Donghyuck’s caramel brown locks before placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. “Do you mind watching the stove while I prepare?”

“Of course,” Donghyuck smiles, leaning in for a quick kiss before happily skipping off into their kitchen with a delighted hum. 

Ten watches him disappear, fond grin growing wider before he turns towards the door to await the arrival of their guests. 

Their dinner table is already set, two plates of white porcelain accompanied by baby blue cotton napkins (Ten had a particular disdain for just how wasteful humans tended to be) and their finest sets of cutlery, snakewood handles moulded onto alloyed surgical steel. They were a parting gift from Yukhei, who’d left for Onides fifty years ago after growing bored of Earth (or, at least, that was his excuse. Ten was pretty sure he’d actually left in search of an elusive xephid named Renjun).

He watches the brainwashed humans pull up into the complex parking lot in a shiny black Tesla Model X that Ten had been eyeing for as long as he’d been following them around the city (mostly because Donghyuck once talked about how the falcon-wing doors looked cool). He can still hear Donghyuck humming a soft tune from their kitchen, the scent of cooking meat wafting into their dining room, and practices his smile while staring their front door down, waiting for the telltale footsteps up the stairs to greet their guests for the evening. 

The doorbell rings. Ten’s irises flash green.

He unlocks their door and embraces them both, ushering them into the dining room where the blinds are drawn, wide grin painting his lips. 

“Oh, the floor is so cold,” Jeno notes, his socked feet dragging along the smooth metal sheet bolted atop the hardwood flooring.

“It’s stainless steel,” Ten proudly comments, the two humans robotically making their way into their designated seats. “For easy clean up.”

“Babe, what’s taking so long— _oh.”_

Ten whips around just in time to see Donghyuck’s surprised expression morph into an excited, gleeful beam. He tightly wraps his arms around Donghyuck’s waist to pull him closer and whispers into his ear, “Surprise, darling.”

“You _shouldn’t_ have,” Donghyuck gushes, marveling at the sight in front of him. “Are they—”

“All yours,” Ten chuckles into the crook of Donghyuck’s neck.

 _“I love you,”_ Donghyuck murmurs, turning around to cup Ten’s jaw with his palms and pull him into a searing kiss. “I love you so much, you know that?”

“You’re both so romantic,” Jaemin suddenly interjects, dreamy smile on his face with his eyes glazed over. Donghyuck breaks from his heated gaze on Ten’s bitten lips to flash his teeth at the human, fangs extending as his lips pull into a wide smile, his eyes flashing white. 

“You can leave it to me now,” Donghyuck murmurs, slinking towards Jaemin as he brushes his tongue against a protruding fang in anticipation. Ten’s eyes revert back to their usual grey, affectionate grin on his face as he watches Donghyuck gently trail his fingers down Jaemin’s cheekbone to his jaw. 

“Aren’t they pretty?” Ten asks, padding over to join Donghyuck. His eyes are on Jeno, whose breathing has slowed, gaze unfocused on the space in front of him, as if he were asleep.

“They’re _beautiful,”_ Donghyuck whispers in response.

Ten procures two pairs of long reusable cable ties from his back pocket, handing a couplet over to Donghyuck before they quickly fasten the humans’ arms and legs to their chairs. Ten realized early on that the use of rope could be misconstrued for something more sexual in nature, and though he often enjoyed toying with his prey, sex with humans was strictly off limits (he’d literally broken one in half the last time he tried, before meeting Donghyuck, and never wanted to go through that kind of letdown again). Zip ties were just much more convenient.

“When did you find them?” Donghyuck asks, both of them readying themselves for the feast, their long, dark tendrils protruding from their backs to trail along the floors and walls, caging the four of them inside of a black orb. Jaemin and Jeno sit unmoving, dazed smiles on their otherwise blank faces, oblivious to the darkness beginning to encapsulate them. Their clothes are ripped to shreds by Ten and Donghyuck’s multiplied appendages, their pointed fangs nipping at the fair, bare skin to heavily bruise the blank canvas, blood surfacing to paint the underside of the thin epidermis with pink and purple.

“A few weeks ago,” Ten murmurs, his tongue trailing along the skin covering Jeno’s carotid artery, his neck relaxed, already lolled to the side for easy access. Donghyuck was much too good at this. “They’re newlyweds. I just couldn’t resist.”

“And their body condition,” Donghyuck observes, his fingers delicately thrumming against Jaemin’s protruding collarbones, “They must’ve smelled so sweet.”

“Like cotton candy,” Ten says with a low laugh, exhilaration flowing through his body. He crouches down to rest his chin on Jeno’s shoulder, half-lidded eyes staring back into Donghyuck’s loving gaze. “Only the best for you, my darling.”

Donghyuck breaks the spell. Jaemin and Jeno abruptly snap out of their induced coma with wide eyes, blood suddenly pulsing so heavily that Ten can practically taste the sweet sugar that will soon coat his tongue. 

“Hello,” Ten purrs into Jeno’s ear, laughing when the human and his lover screech to no avail. “Don’t worry, my dear. No one will be able to hear you.” 

The two humans cease their screaming, violently shaking in their chairs in a futile attempt to escape their shackles, their limbs rendered useless. 

_“W-What are you?”_ Jaemin’s voice trembles and cracks, his heart pounding so heavily inside of his ribcage that Ten can _hear_ it. 

“This will be quick,” Donghyuck coos, tenderly tracing a hand against Jaemin’s jaw before pushing his head to the side to bare his neck.

They both lunge at the same time, draining their prey of blood once their fangs sink into the tender muscle of their necks, their other appendages ripping the pliant bodies limb from limb until all that’s left is a blood-stained floor, tendons torn from bone and skin torn from muscle. It’s a quick, arguably humane death—severing both the carotid artery and jugular veins in one go tends to knock a human out cold within five or so seconds.

They always save the best for last. 

Ten directs his attention to Jeno’s thoracic cavity, his tendrils tearing away the pectoralis tissues and cracking the sternum into bits before ripping apart the intercostals that tie the ribs together, then tossing each rib away, one by one, a loud clang as each bone drops onto the steel plate holding the dismembered carcasses. 

He and Donghyuck have their fun puncturing each lung with their fangs, four loud balloon pops in quick succession as they break out into giggles, before they finally hone in on the most delicious part of all, the still-beating heart, the muscular motor a dark, wine red.

Ten carves the heart away from its pericardium coating and the vessels protruding from it, marveling at the way it pulsates in his hand, exactly 100 beats per minute. Even after hammering in the relationship between sinoatrial node function and parasympathetic regulation for years in his hundreds, if not thousands of lectures on basic human physiology to the (mostly) human students that were oblivious to his true nature, Ten always found himself amazed with the beauty of the heart, so fragile, yet magnificent. An autonomous electrical system that fit perfectly in the palm of his hand—and tasted so, _so_ good.

He hands the heart over to Donghyuck, who gingerly accepts it, cradling the organs in both palms before leaning over to gently press their lips together. 

“Thank you,” Donghyuck murmurs, eyelashes fluttering closed as Ten kisses the tip of his nose, then his plush lips again. 

Donghyuck is so beautiful like this, Ten thinks, watching his fangs rip into the tender, red muscle, blood gushing into his mouth and staining his lips a deeper red before dripping down to coat his neck, the dark wine color perfectly complimenting his golden skin. 

“Always,” Ten smiles, reaching out to clasp their fingers together and press his lips into the valleys between each of Donghyuck’s knuckles. “Anything for you, my love.”

**Author's Note:**

> honestly writing this was actually very fun and i hope to explore this kind of genre again sometime!! i hope this was an enjoyable read :))
> 
> pps. donghyuck's 'ability' is physiological manipulation, which comes in handy when it comes to regulating insulin/glucagon levels in his geriatric patients (or victims) and calming his patients/victims down. while jaem/jen are tied up he's turning off their pancreatic B cells and turning on the alpha cells (basically sweetening their blood by raising blood sugar levels). ok enough nerding out from me goodbye <3


End file.
